Royal Navy Ordered To Turn Ship's Guns So They Don't Point At Michelle Obama's Hotel Suite

15 Oct 2011

From the UK’s Daily Mail:

A British Royal Navy ship was ordered to turn its guns around because they were parked pointing at a hotel room Michelle Obama was staying in.

Fearing the First Lady might be in danger, minders ordered the captain of the HMS Edinburgh stationed in Cape Town, South Africa, to switch them away from her five-star suite.

The U.S. agents have since been accused of overreacting after it emerged the Sea Dart missiles were, in fact, loaded with blanks having been used during a ceremony in honour of a sailor who had died.

Former Royal Navy officer Mike Critchley told the Daily Mirror: ‘This is typical American Secret Service going over the top.

‘I would have thought that they could trust their British allies to not put a missile through the bedroom window of the First Lady. It is unfortunate that this happened at an extremely sad time for the ship.’

Mrs Obama was on an official visit to South Africa in June and was staying in a luxury suite at the five star Table Bay Hotel.

The boat, meanwhile, happened to be in the middle of a ceremonial routine to remember Lieutenant Sara Hellawell, a 26-year-old whose body was found onboard a few days before.

That did not stop the agents raging at them, saying: ‘You can’t point those guns at the First Lady.’